"I know it isn't health care related, but when I was a waitress, I had an upset customer at the restaurant who didn't have his meat prepared the way he wanted. I apologized, but he was very upset to the point of yelling. I tried to stay calm, so I wouldn't appear rattled. He did stop eventually. I apologized again and told him I would comp his meal and talk to the chef. I also asked him if he would like to order something different. He chose another option and was quiet after that."

"I used to work in a call center, so I often had customers upset about waiting a long time to talk to a "live person." I had one customer who went on and on about the value of her time and how she couldn't believe it took her this long to get a real person on the end of the line. I let her vent and then apologized. I told her I was here now and asked how I could help her. I listened very carefully to what she needed, and instead of passing her to another individual when she asked me a question I didn't know, I put her on hold while I found the answer. She was grateful for my help and had calmed down by the end of the call."

Describe how you've kept your cool with difficult customers or colleagues in the past when faced with the challenge of having a difficult conversation. Discuss the situation and why being forthright was the right decision. Explain how you kept your cool. Then make sure to discuss what the result was.